My new pattern is in Knitty Spring Summer 2016!

I had to keep it a secret (and that REALLY hurt!), but now I can show you what I worked on in December and January. It is my first big project since my son was born in 2014.

I wanted a light tee that would be loose and comfortable, but at the same time feminine, with interesting detail and flattering on most body shapes – it had to be suitable for both my slim and very tall daughter, and for the large size me.

I had a general idea of what it was going to look like – stockinette stitch with a bit of lace, but was not sure about detail – until I saw Malabrigo Lace in Jacinto. I fell in love with the colour, and everything somehow fell in place: the construction, the lace pattern at the back and on the sleeves seemed to naturally go together.

As with most of my knitting experiments, I tried my idea out making a smaller version for my daughter first. The experiment was successful – Monika loved her sweater, so I ordered more yarn, this time Malabrigo Lace in Pearl, for my own version. I also bought audio versions of several books in the series I was addicted to at the time, The Last Kingdom, so I wouldn’t fall asleep knitting at night – the only time when I could fully concentrate on the lace pattern, without the ‘help’ of my 1-year old son. By the way, Stiorra is one of the characters in the series.

Here are some more photos of Monika in her sweater – she’s so thrilled to be in a ‘real’ magazine I am sure she has given the link to Knitty to half of her school.

And here’s my short-sleeved tee. I am considering adding long sleeves, but haven’t decided yet (so little time, so many ideas…).

Horizontal rib neckband

After I had made the whole sweater, I realised 1×1 rib I used to finish sleeves and lower edge, wouldn’t really work as a neckband made in loosely knitted lace yarn – it would be far too stretchy. So after some experimenting, I decided to use horizontal rib, worked by alternating bind off rounds, pick up, and knit rounds with decreases – to prevent the neck from stretching. (It’s a slightly modified version of the rib I used in Sunny). You can view a step by step photo tutorial here, or click on the link below to download a pdf version of the tutorial: Horizontal Rib Tutorial by Ewelina Murach 20March2016.

Why don’t you join me in my Ravelry group (Ewelina Murach Designs) and knit your Stiorra with me? I have created a new thread called Knit with me– it’s like a knit-along, but without a beginning or end date so you can join me any time it suits you, show what you are working on and see what others are knitting, you can ask questions and show your pictures. See you there.